Celebrating good food and wine with Chaîne des Rôtisseurs

Now, this is a food group we would be part of. The Chaîne des Rôtisseurs have been in existence for decades and they are celebrated in style in the form of World Chaine Day. 

Marked on 25 April, the club with nearly 25,000 members, the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs is an International Association of Gastronomy which has representatives in 80 countries bringing gourmet connoisseurs who share the same values of quality and the encouragement of the culinary arts together.

Chef Mahlomola Thamae representative of the Gauteng Chaîne des Rôtisseurs explained the purpose of the membership and the association. 

He said it’s a group of people who enjoy fine dining, coming together every month to not only talk about good food but their businesses, and their lives over some good wine. 

The aim of Chaîne des Rôtisseurs is to bring together amateurs and professionals from all over the world, whether they are hoteliers, restaurateurs, executive chefs or sommeliers, in the appreciation of fine cuisine.

“Chaine Day [started] in France many years ago, we just celebrate friendship, good life, sisterhood and brotherhood,” Thamae added.

We tucked into a four-course menu to mark the special occasion at Clico Restaurant in Rosebank, Johannesburg. There were a couple of Chaine members at the table, some from France, Britain and America as one could easily tell the nature of the occasion.  

WATCH: Celebrating good food and wine for World Chiane Day at Clico Restaurant

The menu was curated by talented Chef Davis Moagi, who explained the dishes were a fusion of French cuisine with a bit of molecular gastronomy (mixing science with food, and chemical reactions).

The dishes were paired with wine. Starters were springbok carpaccio (thinly sliced meat) with pickled butternut, candied beetroot,  boerenekaas (Dutch cheese) and rooibos micro salad. 

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The springbok carpaccio was beautifully done, as the meat was exquisite and detectable. Comments around the table were positive, with guests commenting on how they haven’t tried pickled butternut before. The texture was so good which added the necessary bite with sweetness and tartness.

The second course was a coconut, chilli scented hake with tandoori spice tempura prawn with burnt aubergine puree. 

The tempura prawn was divine, seasoned to perfection, and a personal favourite.

The main, pork belly with pork pie and pickled carrot and peanut cabbage were all well balanced. The pork pie was scrumptious, the pie crust was buttery and flaky and could be great as a standalone dish.

Because the first three courses were top class, expectations were high on our end to end on an even better note.

The dessert, apple and cinnamon ice cream, was velvety smooth, however, the apple tart tatin pastry was undercooked but with a room full of foodies they couldn’t fault the great effort Chef Moagi had put in to execute such a brilliant menu to mark the “good life” of celebrating food.